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INTRODUCTION
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NATURE AND THE EXTERNAL WORLD. The reality of the external world is admitted by the Jaina metaphysics as in the case of Sankhya philosophy The Upanishadic thought also maintains the reality of the external world in spite of its pantheistic monism. The other commentators of Vedanta Sutras, besides Sankara also maintain the reality of the external world. Sankara himself while contradicting the Buddhistic school of Vignana Vada accepts the doctrine of the reality of the external world in refuting the Buddhistic school. The Vignana Vada school of the Buddhistic philosophy which maintains that the external reality is merely a manifestation of consciousness is condemned by Sankara by pointing out the difference between the purely imaginary world of dieam and the concrete world of sense perception. There he maintains that the difference in the psychic ideas are intelligible only on the supposition that the psychic images are direct effects of a permanent object in reality. This faith in the reality of the external world which he employs in refuting the Buddhistic metaphysics, he drops out completely when he tries to propound his own theory of Maya according to which the whole of the external reality is converted into a dream world of unreality This particular doctrine of Sankara is incompatible with the Jaina metaphysics.
The origin of the concrete world—The popular view as to the origin of the Concrete World that it is due to the creative activity of an Ishwara is rejected by Jaina philosophy. It is also rejected by Sankhya, Yoga and Mimamasa systems of thought. Sankara also rejects this theory when he criticises the Vaiseshika system and the Pasuptha system. The concrete world from the creator or an Ishwara as a result of his creative Will is thus completely discarded by Sankara also. He maintains that it is a result of the manifestation of the ultimate reality, Brahman. In order to establish this doctrine that the world is the result of the manifestation of the Brahman he elaborately discusses the Sankhya view of deriving cosmos from Prakriti, the Achetana root cause of the concrete world according to the Sankhya school. Sankhyas and the Jainas staunchly
